Wheelchairs are important devices for people suffering from conditions which reduce their capability to walk, for example as a result of illness, injury, or disability. A wheelchair may increase the quality of life for millions of people suffering from such conditions.
More recently, powered wheelchairs have become a more common solution for facilitating motion for affected persons, in particular persons suffering from more severe conditions. One type of powered wheelchairs is an electrically powered wheelchair. The power to an electrically powered wheelchair can for instance be provided by an electric motor. By providing electrical power to drive the wheelchair, the quality of life for severely affected people is particularly improved since less manual operation is required. Hence, travelling longer distances is less exhausting with an electrically powered wheelchair. An electrical power source in a powered wheelchair may also be employed for additional advanced operations and functions of the wheelchair.
Over time, the operation of the powered wheelchair has continuously been further developed and for this type of wheelchairs it has often been an aim to improve the freedom of movement for the user of the wheelchair while maintaining a high level of safety during use.
Powered wheelchairs may for instance be designed for indoor, outdoor or indoor/outdoor use. A powered wheelchair for outdoor use may preferably have a considerable range, i.e. a large wheelbase to help with stability, whilst a typical powered wheelchair for indoor use often is narrow and short, to enable better manoeuvring around tight environments.
In order to minimize the risk of forward or backward tipping during operation of the powered wheelchair, there is often provided one or several anti-tip supports or anti-tip support wheels. This type of means may typically be arranged at the rear or in front of the powered wheelchair and often positioned a few centimeters from the ground surface, e.g. the floor. The anti-tip supports or anti-tip support wheels may also be arranged on the powered wheelchair in order to improve the stability during operation of the powered wheelchair. Anti-tip supports or anti-tip support wheels may therefore be considered as valuable safety features of the powered wheelchair.
Yet, some anti-tip supports or anti-tip support wheels may be regarded as impediment by restricting the freedom of operation of the powered wheelchair. For this reason, many anti-tip wheels are removable, height adjustable or capable of being folded up by accompanying person such as carers.
Hence, it would be beneficial if it could be ensured that the stability of the powered wheelchair can be provided without excessive manual operations.